Received: 30 May 2023
Revised: 19 February 2024
Accepted: 27 February 2024
DOI: 10.1111/csp2.13113
CONTRIBUTED PAPER
Assessing ecological and socio-political factors in site selection for ocelot reintroduction in Texas Lindsay A. Martinez 1
| Jason V. Lombardi 2
Amanda D. Anderson3 |
Tyler Campbell4
|
Garrett Powers3 |
| Roel R. Lopez3
1
Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
2
Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M UniversityKingsville, Kingsville, Texas, USA
3
Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
4
Abstract Wildlife reintroduction site selection requires the consideration of not only a species' ecology but also socio-political factors that may impact conservation efforts. These socio-political dimensions may be especially important for endangered carnivore reintroductions on private lands in the United States, where landowner support for the reintroduction is a necessity given landowner concerns about ecological and legal impacts of carnivore restoration. We
East Foundation, San Antonio, Texas, USA
designed an assessment to identify potential sites for reintroduction of the federally endangered ocelot (Leopardus pardalis pardalis) in Texas, a state where
Correspondence Lindsay A. Martinez, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management, Texas A&M University, 495 Horticulture Rd, College Station, TX 77843 USA. Email: lindsay.martinez14@gmail.com
over 97% of lands are privately owned. We incorporated International Union for Conservation of Nature recommendations into a geospatial analysis evalu-
Present address Jason V. Lombardi, Wildlife Health Laboratory, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Rancho Cordova, California, USA. Funding information US Fish and Wildlife Service; Texas A&M University Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management
ating potential reintroduction sites based on site size, ecological and life history requirements of ocelots, potential natural and anthropogenic threats, and the socio-political context of each site. We identified the five highest-ranking sites that had species-specific suitable landscape structure of woody cover, fine-scale vegetative cover, minimal natural and anthropogenic threats, and that present land ownership patterns that are logistically feasible for conservation planners to navigate. Our assessment provided information for ocelot conservation planning and established a framework for incorporating private land data into large-scale assessments of wildlife reintroduction sites on private lands. KEYWORDS
conservation planning, mammals, North America, private lands, remote sensing, threatened species
1 | INTRODUCTION Felids are common subjects of conservation reintroduction programs due to felid population declines and severe range contractions, the importance of restoring the
ecological roles of predator species, and the high intrinsic value and associated public interest in conserving felids (Seddon et al., 2005). Though felid reintroductions are common, they are not always successful, and the poor performance of many wildlife reintroduction efforts
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2024 The Authors. Conservation Science and Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology. Conservation Science and Practice. 2024;e13113. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13113
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